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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944898">An Interesting Exchange</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmiLu/pseuds/AmiLu'>AmiLu</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Fandoms Challenge (2020) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach, Soul Eater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fusion, Canon Blendings, Gen, I do what I want, May Or May Not Be Continued, Shibusen is Seireitei's Worst Nightmare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:14:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,403</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22944898</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmiLu/pseuds/AmiLu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He would have loved to visit the country—if it had been in any other way. Another way that didn’t involve the afterlife or shinigami business or a freaking school exchange program into the most strange and utterly bizarre academy he’s ever seen.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Fandoms Challenge (2020) [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649002</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for the shiritori comm on LJ (writetomyheart). Opening line was <em>"Ben's afterlife was certainly looking up"</em> and I chose to start with the last two words.</p><p>
  <span class="small">It also fills the 'away' prompt for my 100 fandoms challenge table. I'm counting Bleach for it.</span>
</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Looking up at the sky in a confused, almost pleading way, Ichigo wonders what he’s done to deserve this. This being his sudden relocation to America of all places.</p><p>Don’t get him wrong. He would have loved to visit the country—if it had been in any other way. Another way that didn’t involve the afterlife or shinigami business or a freaking school exchange program into the most strange and utterly bizarre academy he’s ever seen, and that includes the time when he and Rukia had to get into one of—</p><p>Anyway, he digresses.</p><p>He would have <em> loved </em> to come to America if he was on vacation, or maybe for an <em> actual </em>school exchange. From the living world. And not from an academy he doesn’t even attend back home because he’s already surpassed anything and everything they could have ever taught him in Seireitei simply because he got his powers in the middle of a war.</p><p>(His kido is still terrible and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon at all. He’s simply got too much reiatsu—having two zanpakuto is enough proof of that.)</p><p>“Oi, Aibou,” Shiro says from his place on his left, also looking up (and up, and up) towards the top of the mountain-city where the academy is placed. Death City is already stranger than the Seireitei, Ichigo finds, but the Shibusen is just plain weird. Why does it have to be a castle with giant candles surrounding three massive white skulls? “Do we r’lly need to stay here for the whole two weeks?”</p><p>“Yes,” Zangetsu answers for Ichigo, face impassive and eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, from where he’s standing on Ichigo’s right. “It’s part of the conditions to give us leeway to operate freely back home, you know that.”</p><p>Shiro’s scowl darkens and he snorts disdainfully. “As if they could stop us anyway.”</p><p>“They could make our lives difficult.”</p><p>“Not if they got a good ass-kickin’.”</p><p>“Don’t be a child.”</p><p>“Don’t be a boring ol’ man.”</p><p>“Could both of you shut up?” Ichigo intervenes before they start another catfight. Or, to be more specific, before Shiro tries for violence and Zangetsu plainly avoids him, which in turn will make Shiro even <em> worse </em> until they’re actually fighting. Too much collateral damage. Ichigo <em> hates </em>dealing with all of that when they’re back home, and he really doesn’t want to deal with it here, where it can cause an international incident.</p><p>Shiro glowers at him with his gold-colored eyes. Ichigo ignores it with the ease of practice.</p><p>“We do have to stay the whole two weeks,” he says, frowning, but then offers a quick small smile to his more irascible zanpakuto, “but you’ve heard what they say back home about Shibusen, right?”</p><p>Shiro mulishly doesn’t answer for a moment, but Ichigo knows he’s thinking. Then, like a bloodhound that has found the right track, he perks up and grins, sharp and deadly. “Oh, wasn’t it the crazy place full of crazy people that <em> loved </em>to fight?”</p><p>Zangetsu sighs, long and hard, but Ichigo isn’t fooled. He can feel the old man’s anticipation singing in their bond.</p><p>“That’s what I’ve heard.” Ichigo tilts his head and narrows his eyes as he sees something (someone?) running down the street and right towards them. “And,” he adds, hand twitching, getting ready to catch his blades if it’s needed, “it seems that we’re about to find if there is some truth to the rumor mill.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This ridiculous concept keeps bothering me, so I guess I will keep inflicting it upon the internet. At least some of you seem to like it, so... enjoy?</p><p>For shiritori on LJ. I had to start with "Simple."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Simple, the old man said.” Ichigo grunts, parries, ducks, slashes. A clang of metal meeting metal and a flash of bright eyes and a too-wide smile. “Simple, my ass.”</p><p>Shiro cackles in their shared mental space and he can even feel Zangestu’s quiet but thorough amusement. It doesn’t stop both of them from feeling a slight thread of irritation as they block yet another different weapon—at least it’s not another blasted cannonball (and Ichigo’s seen a lot of weird powers in which respects zanpakutou, but he’s starting to think Seireitei is fairly traditional even in their weirdness, because most people back home have blades, which is certainly not the case here.)</p><p>“Oh, wow, you’re sooo good,” the kid with the wild blue hair shouts, and it’s loud—so loud Ichigo has Grimmjow flashbacks. “But! Not as good as <em> me, </em> the great Black Star! Let’s show them, Tsubaki! Ya-hoo!”</p><p><em> Did he seriously call himself ore-sama? </em> Ichigo wonders, bemused, as he somersaults back in order to avoid the loud chainsaw swipe. Such an irritating ability!</p><p><em> She’s great! </em> Shiro exclaims, bloodthirsty and gleeful. <em> Such an interesting opponent to fight! Let me at ‘em, Aibou! Let’s bankai their asses! </em></p><p>Ichigo grits his teeth and parries again, then uses Zangetsu’s blade to throw another Getsuga. The kid—Black Star?—avoids it rather neatly in a move that reminds Ichigo sharply of Yoruichi and all the assassins of the second, then ruins it by shouting again and offer to sign him a freaking <em> autograph. </em></p><p>“No, I don’t want your autograph,” Ichigo snarls. “I don’t even know you!”</p><p>“Oh, that’s no problem! Let me teach you, then! I am the Great Black Star, the man who will surpass God himself! Bow before my starness, hyahahaha!”</p><p>Ichigo’s eye twitches. He knows he’s a few words away from snapping and actually following Shiro’s insistent suggestion to use Bankai on the irritating kid.</p><p>It’s only the sharp sound of a different blade slashing the air that stops him from doing just that. Following Zangetsu’s urgent demands, Ichigo quickly disengages and takes a couple of jumps back, just in time to see a huge scythe cleave the ground where they were just fighting. Black Star yelps and hurries back, too, but seems to be more irritated than worried about this new development.</p><p>It’s never more obvious than when he turns towards the spot the red and black scythe had come from and obviously pouts.</p><p>“Maka!” he whines, dragging the last syllable like a spoiled kid, which, Ichigo is coming to realize, is actually the case. “Why did you have to stop us? It was getting fun!”</p><p>A girl not much older than Black Star, wearing a black trench coat over a school uniform, crosses her arms and glares at the boy with stern green eyes.</p><p>“Shinigami-sama told us to greet our guests,” she says, sharply, “not to go fight them before we even introduce ourselves!” She scowls. “Honestly! Soul—”</p><p>“Yare, yare.” The scythe, now in his human form, cracks his neck and gives Ichigo a lazy half-smile before turning to Black Star. “Better grovel a bit, if you don’t wanna get stuck in detention forever.”</p><p>Black Star pales and grimaces, then turns to Maka. “I’ll be good!” he exclaims, but Maka doesn’t look convinced. Ichigo doesn’t blame her—he’s barely met the kid, and he doesn’t trust him, either.</p><p>Shiro pulls at their bond and Ichigo relaxes, letting both his blades go. They change forms in a rush of reishi, and then take their usual places at Ichigo’s sides.</p><p>“Oh, you have two weapons,” Maka says, surprised. “I thought it was just one of those special cases like,” she motions towards Black Star, whose weapon has also changed back to her human form—a tall woman with long hair up in a ponytail.</p><p>“Yeah, no.” Ichigo shrugs, knowing that having two zanpakutou is not that common. “These are Shiro and Zangetsu. And I’m, uh, Ichigo Kurosaki,” he says, the western order feeling awkward on his tongue. “We’re the exchange students from Seireitei.”</p><p>Maka smiles at them, and it’s kind. “Nice to meet you, Ichigo, Shiro, Zangetsu. My name is Maka Albarn, and this is my partner, Soul.”</p><p>“Yo.”</p><p>“We’ll be in charge of your acclimatization.”</p><p>“And I’m Black Star! Do you want that autograph now?” Black Star interrupts, and Ichigo can see Maka’s eye twitch in a mirror of his own.</p><p>“Ah, we’d better go... ” Tsubaki says, voice soft, and Ichigo wonders how in hell are those two so well-matched, being as different as they seem. “Ne, Black Star? It’s dinner time.”</p><p>Black Star’s eyes get a glossy shine, and then he’s nodding and getting away in the same way he appeared, like a whirlwind. Tsubaki sighs, smiles at them and bows before going after him in a much more sedated pace.</p><p>Shiro whistles, then guffaws. “Interesting friends you have there, eh?”</p><p>Soul chuckles, hands inside the pocket of his hoodie while Maka sighs, long-suffering. “You have <em> no </em>idea.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've been thinking that a fusion between these two series would be hilarious for some time now, and I'd love to know if there's some interest in having more of it around, even if it's to share some headcanons on how the canons would blend together! You can leave your thoughts here or come to talk to me on tumblr (kurosakiami01).</p><p>I hope you enjoyed! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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